Went to see BL from Medford last night and what a surprise I had. EL from Wat riped it up with 3 g and 2 a. BL got a meaningless pt with the game nearly over, I was expecting more from BL final score was 7 to 1 goalie from Wat/Mel was good also

BL from Medford is a better player then EL from Watertown. Nothing away from EL, she is very good. But if you know the game of hockey (and I suspect this is where your disconnect is) then you would appreciate just how good BL is.

Walpole, same thing at the youth level. Always the refs fault, the players so disrespect the game same as the parents, gets old real quick.What ever level it is Walpole never gives credit when other team maybe better. Poor sportsmenship

You mean sportsmanship? Your user name is appropriate. You are the father of a hockey player, not someone who actually knows the game.

Can you recap a game without talking about the refs. Maybe the Walpole parents hair across their as s for the refs is the reason your players are dropping F-bombs at the refs and getting thrown out of games. Must be hereditary.

BTW, no Walpole player has "been thrown out of a game." Not that you would let the facts get in the way of your disturbing commentary.

Look, I think pretty much anyone who has watched these games knows that the officials are pretty much what is left available. The very best go to the pros/semi pros. Then to College at the various division levels. Then to private leagues (which likely can pay them better) and then to High School games where first pick goes to the boys games and finally the girls. So it is not surprising that their performances leave many wanting more since we see better efforts and results from higher level officials. (This in not unique to hockey, I can assure you on that having been on the Soccer side of this same argument as a player, coach and parent years ago.)

The only time I find real fault with on ice officials is when they 1) do not show appropriate levels of effort to get into position, 2) when they do not know or correctly apply the rules, and 3) if they decidely favor one side in otherwise even circumstances. Now this last one is tricky, since play styles can play a HUGE role in this one. For example, lets say you get a top team from a league which generally plays very physical with a good deal of contact happening in the game, and they are now playing a team from another league which enforces some of those contact rules more strictly by the letter than perhaps the intent. Get an official who routinely works one league and now they ref a game between those two teams. If they call the game like they usually do within that league, then other team is at a real disadvantage. It may seem they are getting called for everything, or that the other team is getting away with everything. That same official might be highly regarded within that league for calling the game the right way, at least the way the teams in that league expect and wish the game to called. So you see, this last part is very very hard to fully pin on officials. All that being said, I have clearly seen times where it was very clear that the official had eyes out for one team more than the other. Officials are people too and more than once I have seen them take note of which bench was giving them a hard time or which set of fans were being more disrepectful and then "stick it to that team" when they got a chance. Human nature is just that, human nature and you react when challenged.

Can you recap a game without talking about the refs. Maybe the Walpole parents hair across their as s for the refs is the reason your players are dropping F-bombs at the refs and getting thrown out of games. Must be hereditary.

BTW, no Walpole player has "been thrown out of a game." Not that you would let the facts get in the way of your disturbing commentary.

I know that you are a self proclaimed hockey expert and that I can't compare to your hockey knowledge but when the ref tells a player to leave the game and she goes to the locker room I am pretty sure she has been thrown out of the game. Of course someone with your superior knowledge might call it something else.

Hockeychristna, self proclaimed expert. it must be nice to be as smart as the all knowing and powerful oz but no one is paying attention to the man or women behind the curtain. hockey dad, just a name do not have anyone playing.sometimes games and calls seem to favor one team and I agree but if you can watchthat game again without the emotion of the game it always looks different.please try taping a game and you will have a completely different view. Good luck in the tournament

Hockeychristna, self proclaimed expert. it must be nice to be as smart as the all knowing and powerful oz but no one is paying attention to the man or women behind the curtain. hockey dad, just a name do not have anyone playing.sometimes games and calls seem to favor one team and I agree but if you can watchthat game again without the emotion of the game it always looks different.please try taping a game and you will have a completely different view. Good luck in the tournament

Hockeychrisna is actually right on this one. No Walpole player has been thrown out this year, nor has been or even dropped the F bomb on an official. The instance I believe being referred to by MM is that the referee said "Technical" and what the heck does that mean anyway? and player said something to the effect of "I have never sworn at you" and he said "technical for verbal abuse." She got a misconduct, (or if you are that ref, a technical) not a game disqualification (getting thrown out of a game) and left the ice because there was less time on the clock than what the penalty was. Now in regards to the poor officiating, isn't that a basketball term? ANd you wonder why parents and coaches blame outcomes on games on officiating? Pete is spot on...different leagues, different guidelines, different officiating. Players, parents, and coaches get upset when games are called poorly, whether it is in terms of basic rules of high school hockey, or penalties.

On another note, I am also shocked at the rude and disprespectful comments made on this thread whether in regards to behavior of players, parents or coaches. Not withstanding that this is an outlet to "blow off steam," I know for a fact, refs, coaches, players, and parents(obviously) read this. And no, I am not a coach or ref, just a parent shaking their head at the shenanigans...

Walpole was up 3-1 after 1 in this contest. In the first 2 periods the refs decided to whistle Walpole 6 times for penalties vs. 0 for Duxbury. Duxbury capitalized twice on the PP. In the 3rd, the refs evened it up quite a bit, calling 3 penalties on Duxbury to 0 for Walpole. Walpole however, could not capitalize. And that essentially was the ballgame. Walpole could have easily tied this game if they had stayed out of the box, as the 5 on 5 play was pretty close to even.

HM scored the first goal beating Walpole's best defender. Walpole struck back with goals from AY, BM and OM. BM's goal was a pretty rush, going left to right just inside the bklue line, and whistling one past a stunend RM.

Duxbury's 5th goal was a beautiful one timer by JD off a faceoff.

All in all Walpole acquitted themselves quite well. But they must find a way to stay out of the box, as teams like Duxbury generally have the edge on special teams.

Having watched Walpole play Canton, Wellesley (twice) Falmouth and Duxbury, D2 looks like a toss up. Falmouth losing one of their best players seems to have knocked them down a bit. From this vantage point, Falmouth was the best of those 4 by a not insignificant margin. But again that was before the injury. All 4 of these teams look good, though I suspect Canton will have the toughest time because I think their goalie isn't quite as good as the other 3. Wellesley probably the next to drop off as their goalie is much less experienced.

I have not seen the North teams, but man oh man, does D2 seem to be all South!

Gotta chime in here. penalty or no penalty there was no way that Walpole was going to win that game. Duxbury played well below their high tempo level. Very flat. Sorry, just not enough girls on Walpole that know how to play other than the poor girl that clearly carries the team (good skater, puck handler and shot - #7) and #6 seemed to have some talent. Kinda drops off after that. if Falmouth gets that girl (or girls) back it WILL be fal vs. dux for d2 title. Canton a chance. Fontbonne dark horse. Swellesley - no way.

Hockeychristna, self proclaimed expert. it must be nice to be as smart as the all knowing and powerful oz but no one is paying attention to the man or women behind the curtain. hockey dad, just a name do not have anyone playing.sometimes games and calls seem to favor one team and I agree but if you can watchthat game again without the emotion of the game it always looks different.please try taping a game and you will have a completely different view. Good luck in the tournament

Hockeychrisna is actually right on this one. No Walpole player has been thrown out this year, nor has been or even dropped the F bomb on an official. The instance I believe being referred to by MM is that the referee said "Technical" and what the heck does that mean anyway? and player said something to the effect of "I have never sworn at you" and he said "technical for verbal abuse." She got a misconduct, (or if you are that ref, a technical) not a game disqualification (getting thrown out of a game) and left the ice because there was less time on the clock than what the penalty was. Now in regards to the poor officiating, isn't that a basketball term? ANd you wonder why parents and coaches blame outcomes on games on officiating? Pete is spot on...different leagues, different guidelines, different officiating. Players, parents, and coaches get upset when games are called poorly, whether it is in terms of basic rules of high school hockey, or penalties.

On another note, I am also shocked at the rude and disprespectful comments made on this thread whether in regards to behavior of players, parents or coaches. Not withstanding that this is an outlet to "blow off steam," I know for a fact, refs, coaches, players, and parents(obviously) read this. And no, I am not a coach or ref, just a parent shaking their head at the shenanigans...

You Walpole people are in complete denial. So which ever way the ref worded it the girl was essentially thrown out of the game. And you are going to say that the ref said verbal abuse but noone swore. Give me a break!!

Saw the Wellesley - Walpole game. Brutal refereeing both ways. We were fortunate when the Walpole player got a "technical" from the ref. Game was tied at that point. Good fortune for the Raiders, as the penalty seemed a little bit much, but when you have incompetent, that's what you get. Oh well, we have to grin and bear it, we get the worst of the worst for refs. Heard from a few Needham parents how poorly our game was officiated, as they were on right after us.

Wellesley can compete in D2 if SG plays her best hockey, MC puts up a few goals and Coach C plays MK in net. Her overall numbers are similiar to EM's, but from this vantage point, MK has the better chance of standing on her head in the post season against the better teams. That is no slight to EM, she has been a very good captain.

mm- to clarify, she got the "technical" after for stating "I never swore" -that was what the verbal abuse call was. And she wasn't thrown out of the game. She received a misconduct, which is an 8 minute penalty... A game disqualification, gets you thrown out, or 2 misconducts...which would have then had her out for the next two games....

02481- spot on with the awful officiating both ways in that game. No need to be sorry for thinking your team is better than Norwood and Walpole...we all think the same about our own...denial is a beautiful thing:)

scooter8- no denying that Duxbury the better skilled team, however, coming out flat and the other team being able to capitalize- that is the beauty of being the underdog and the "Cinderella" teams during the season and in the tournament. It is unfortunate however, when officiating often dictates or influences the outcome...For ALL teams

Went to see BL from Medford last night and what a surprise I had. EL from Wat riped it up with 3 g and 2 a. BL got a meaningless pt with the game nearly over, I was expecting more from BL final score was 7 to 1 goalie from Wat/Mel was good also

BL from Medford is a better player then EL from Watertown. Nothing away from EL, she is very good. But if you know the game of hockey (and I suspect this is where your disconnect is) then you would appreciate just how good BL is.

Hingham Tourney - 2/19/2013 - Wow, Woburn beat AC pretty easy today. SM and Duxbury ended in a 0-0 tie (for season game) with a shootout going to Duxbury (for tourney) but what a great game. Two SM 1st liners out in an ambulance 1st period due to freak collisions but per usual the SM coach pulled it off with shifting his slim bench around, amazing job by both DUX and SM tonight, really good game to watch, good clean game by both teams, good referees!

With the passing of New Years the high school hockey season is in full swing.Here are my thoughts on some of the top leagues and conferences so far:

Middlesex Liberty âÂÂ I think this is the best league in girlâÂÂs hockey.Woburn, Reading and Lexington are not only vying for a league title they are competing for a state title.Arlington will make a run in D1 and Winchester and Belmont will go a few rounds in D2 tourney.

Merrimack/Dual Large âÂÂ Westford, AB and Andover are going to battle.I believe Andover was up 2-0 on Westford only to give up 3 in the 3rd and take an L.Andover then went on to beat AB last week.I would not sleep on Billerica either.

SEMGHL Coastal âÂÂ Falmouth, Barnstable and Duxbury are the head of the class here.Sandwich is better and may sneak into post season.

Bay State Herget âÂÂ Walpole, Wellesley will fight it out of crown but Norwood wonâÂÂt be far off.Milton is getting strong goaltending and is on the rise.Natick should qualify for post season and Dedham has the fire power but needs to get support in net.

Top 5 Teams in D1:

Woburn, Reading, Hingham, Lexington and Marys

Top 5 Teams in D2:

Falmouth, Duxbury, Wellesley, Walpole and Canton

Other league and conference thoughts:

GEMIHL âÂÂ CAL/Northeast âÂÂ Beverly-Danvers is loaded with upperclassmen and played Lexington tough in a 4-1L in the preliminary round last year.Lynn/Winthrop will push them and has post season swagger. GBL/Metro - Cambridge is tops here.They play Beverly this week so that will be a game to measure where these teams are.

SEMGHL âÂÂ East âÂÂ Marshfield and MV are playing well but look for 2nd year program Norwell to make some noise as well.SEMGHL âÂÂ West - Canton and Westwood will go battle as they do every season.Franklin is a bit down this season.Medfield and Medway will make post season.

The Middlesex Freedom, Merrimack/Dual Small and Catholic Conf look to be 1 team races.Watertown despite the loss of some fire power can lean on EL for scoring.LS has an exceptional goaltender.Fontbonne has two freshman goalies seeing action and like Watertown lost fire power but is managing to get it elsewhere.

The Bay State Carey will be decided by Braintree and Framingham.Needham is improved and could qualify for the tourney and or finish second in the Carey if things break right.

The Catholic Central race doesnâÂÂt even matter to the teams in the conference.Marys and AC are shooting for state titles.Archies has been a pleasant surprise so far.AP has the best goalie in the state.

The Central/West âÂÂ is tough to call.Shrewsbury has been good in past and got off to a good start this season.They play AP so that should give a better view of what they got.Springfield CathedralâÂÂs sample size is too small to evaluate.

Hingham is an Independent and it goes without saying that they will be def one of the final 8 and probably a final 4 team this season.

Other Notes:

Hingham will be the site for the 1st Super 8 hockey tourney. It will be during Feb. break and give the top 8 teams a chance to get some good work in prior to the state tourney. The field is: Hingham, Duxbury, Arlington, AC, Woburn, Lexington, AB and Marys. Could this lead to a post season girls Super 8, maybe in a few years...

Falmouth is also hosting a late season tourney with Barnstable, Norwood and Wellesley. That sounds like a nice post season tune up.

An ALL STAR event for girls is in the making. Game would be late March with teams able to nominate 2 players. It would be a state wide event similar to the boys. Juniors and seniors would be eligible. It would possibly be played back to back with the boy's game.

With all due respect, I'm just curious why you state AP goalie is best in state? She's got a great record, congrats to her but I looked at their schedule and they play: ursuline, barnstable, shrewsbury, central catholic, not quite the top scoring teams in the state. Just wondering if your comment is strictly %saves?

Hingham Tourney - 2/19/2013 - Wow, Woburn beat AC pretty easy today. SM and Duxbury ended in a 0-0 tie (for season game) with a shootout going to Duxbury (for tourney) but what a great game. Two SM 1st liners out in an ambulance 1st period due to freak collisions but per usual the SM coach pulled it off with shifting his slim bench around, amazing job by both DUX and SM tonight, really good game to watch, good clean game by both teams, good referees!

Well Woburn led Lexington 3-0 before giving up 3 goals and ending in a tie. They led Reading 2-0 and 3-1 before it was tied 3-3 and ultimately won 4-3. So perhaps they have buckeled down on D and worked on holding a lead. If so that will be a great omen for the playoffs.

With all due respect, I'm just curious why you state AP goalie is best in state? She's got a great record, congrats to her but I looked at their schedule and they play: ursuline, barnstable, shrewsbury, central catholic, not quite the top scoring teams in the state. Just wondering if your comment is strictly %saves?

Well when you look at the goalie stats, her numbers are outstanding. She has the best save % at 96.6%, 9 shutouts on the season and has faced more shots 568 (missing the last couple of games in the stats too) than any other goalie. Almost twice a many shots as goalies for Woburn (308) and Duxbury (304) for example (who are both outstanding goal tenders in their own rights). So for Austin Prep to be competitive she has had to be outstanding since she her team has only scored 41 goals. She is clearly among the best and discussions like this are always debateable since none of the goalies or teams faces the same level of competition consistently.

Beverly Danvers fell today to Chelmsford. It was pretty clear what would happen once they had to face real competition (and I use that term lightly when speaking of Chelmsford). Just to put it in perspective, Chelmsford fell to Acton Boxboro 2x this season, both shut-outs, first 11-0 second time 8-0 and I heard they were skating circles around Beverly today.